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ITC/USA 2008 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Fourth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 27-30, 2008 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California / Unique vehicle designs encourage the use of the builder to complete its own failure analysis. Current failure analysis practices use telemetry and diagnostic technology developed over the past 100 years to identify root-cause. When telemetry isn't available speculation is used to create a list of prioritized, potential causes. Prognostic technology consists of generic algorithms that identify equipment that has failed and is going to fail while the equipment is still at the factory allowing the equipment to be repaired or replaced while it is still on the ground for any spacecraft, satellite, launch vehicle and missile.

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This thesis looks into the examination of polymer composite wreckage from the perspective of the aircraft accident investigator. It develops an understanding of the process of wreckage examination as well as identifying the potential for visual and macroscopic interpretation of polymer composite aircraft wreckage. The in-field examination of aircraft wreckage, and subsequent interpretations of material failures, can be a significant part of an aircraft accident investigation. As the use of composite materials in aircraft construction increases, the understanding of how macroscopic failure characteristics of composite materials may aid the field investigator is becoming of increasing importance. The first phase of this research project was to explore how investigation practitioners conduct wreckage examinations. Four accident investigation case studies were examined. The analysis of the case studies provided a framework of the wreckage examination process. Subsequently, a literature survey was conducted to establish the current level of knowledge on the visual and macroscopic interpretation of polymer composite failures. Relevant literature was identified and a compendium of visual and macroscopic characteristics was created. Two full-scale polymer composite wing structures were loaded statically, in an upward bending direction, until each wing structure fractured and separated. The wing structures were subsequently examined for the existence of failure characteristics. The examination revealed that whilst characteristics were present, the fragmentation of the structure destroyed valuable evidence. A hypothetical accident scenario utilising the fractured wing structures was developed, which UK government accident investigators subsequently investigated. This provided refinement to the investigative framework and suggested further guidance on the interpretation of polymer composite failures by accident investigators.

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis looks into the examination of polymer composite wreckage from the perspective of the aircraft accident investigator. It develops an understanding of the process of wreckage examination as well as identifying the potential for visual and macroscopic interpretation of polymer composite aircraft wreckage. The in-field examination of aircraft wreckage, and subsequent interpretations of material failures, can be a significant part of an aircraft accident investigation. As the use of composite materials in aircraft construction increases, the understanding of how macroscopic failure characteristics of composite materials may aid the field investigator is becoming of increasing importance. The first phase of this research project was to explore how investigation practitioners conduct wreckage examinations. Four accident investigation case studies were examined. The analysis of the case studies provided a framework of the wreckage examination process. Subsequently, a literature survey was conducted to establish the current level of knowledge on the visual and macroscopic interpretation of polymer composite failures. Relevant literature was identified and a compendium of visual and macroscopic characteristics was created. Two full-scale polymer composite wing structures were loaded statically, in an upward bending direction, until each wing structure fractured and separated. The wing structures were subsequently examined for the existence of failure characteristics. The examination revealed that whilst characteristics were present, the fragmentation of the structure destroyed valuable evidence. A hypothetical accident scenario utilising the fractured wing structures was developed, which UK government accident investigators subsequently investigated. This provided refinement to the investigative framework and suggested further guidance on the interpretation of polymer composite failures by accident investigators.

The Millennium Tower in San Francisco, which was the tallest building in western United States, recorded excessive settlements shortly after construction. There were two possible reasons for the abnormal behavior, inadequate foundation design to support excessively heavy building load, and changes in subsurface conditions due to dewatering at the nearby construction site. This research aims to identify the most reasonable causes of the settlement of Millennium Tower. In this study, a centrifuge model was constructed to simulate the settlement of Millennium Tower and to predict the settlement trend in the future. A loading device using airbag was used to apply incremental load in-flight. Dewatering was also simulated during consolidation. The centrifuge modeling was performed based on the field subsurface data obtained from geotechnical reports. Ground materials were prepared by mixing different kinds of soil, and the foundation system was modeled in detail based on the information of foundation design. The model was tested under a centrifugal acceleration of 120-g. An airbag loading system was used to simulate the multi-stage construction sequence. After simulating the construction sequence, long-term consolidation settlement over a period of 20 years was conducted. The groundwater level was lowered to study the change in settlement caused by dewatering at the nearby construction site. Eight laser transducers measured the settlements of building and each ground layer, and the pore water pressure transducers measured the pore water pressure in the clay layers at four different depths. The average settlement obtained from the centrifuge model test showed good agreement with the field measurements. The centrifuge model testing showed that the temporary change in groundwater level did not affect the long-term settlement.

This study presents the effect of the stacking sequence and fiber orientation on a composite sandwich panel subjected to static in-plane bolt loading. Six plates were constructed with laminates of unidirectional carbon fiber and cross ply weaves of fiberglass. The orientations that were examined included 0, +/- 45, and 90 degrees. Half of the plates had fiberglass lamina on the outside of the laminate while the other three plates had the carbon fiber on the outside. Experimental and analytical tests were performed to determine the best orientations and stacking sequence. For the numerical analysis, plates with fibers oriented at +/- 45 degrees showed the highest strength. The experimental data also showed high strengths for the +/- 45 degree plates. However the experimental data also showed high strengths for the 90 degree laminate but with very high displacements. These high displacements would not allow the joint to maintain its relative position to the adjacent part. The discrepancy between the strength of the FEA models and the experimental data is attributed to inaccurate strength properties. The effect of in situ strength and compression strength was found to have a significant effect on the accuracy of the FEA solution. Good correlation was found between the FEA and experimental data in predicting the trend of the stiffness of the plates.

ITC/USA 2011 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Seventh Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 24-27, 2011 / Bally's Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada / Spacecraft and launch vehicle reliability is dominated by premature equipment failures and surprise equipment failures that increase risk and decrease safety, mission assurance and effectiveness. Large, complex aerospace systems such as aircraft, launch vehicle and satellites are first subjected to most exhaustive and comprehensive acceptance testing program used in any industry and yet suffer from the highest premature failure rates. Desired/required spacecraft equipment performance is confirmed during factory testing using telemetry, however equipment mission life requirement is not measured but calculated manually and so the equipment that will fail prematurely are not identified and replaced before use. Spacecraft equipment mission-life is not measured and confirmed before launch as performance is but calculated using stochastic equations from probability reliability analysis engineering standards such as MIL STD 217. The change in the engineering practices used to manufacture and test spacecraft necessary to identify the equipment that will fail prematurely include using a prognostic and health management (PHM) program. A PHM includes using predictive algorithms to convert equipment telemetry into a measurement of equipment remaining usable life. A PHM makes the generation, collection, storage and engineering and scientific analysis of equipment performance data "mission critical" rather than just nice-to-have engineering information.